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Top Ten Best Stories About Mormonism in 2012

Posted on Nov 13, 2012

The 2012 presidential campaign put Mormons and their Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under an intense media spotlight. Mormonism was analyzed, criticized, praised, appreciated, and misunderstood in a deluge of articles, blogs, television shows and opinion pieces.

MormonVoices kept a steady eye on the voluminous coverage, offering both praise and criticism. Below are the top ten examples of fair and accurate reporting about Mormonism during 2012. The worst ten examples will be published later this week.

The Ten Best Stories About Mormonism

(1) Naomi Schaefer Riley wrote an in-depth piece for Philanthropy Roundtable, investigating and explaining the Mormon welfare system and its importance in Mormon practice. Riley acknowledged the political connection to her story, but spent much more time communicating details about the welfare system and included several Mormon points of view. Riley’s piece is an excellent contribution to a thorough, in-depth understanding of Mormonism that many news stories lacked.

(2) Joel Kotkin, whose academic expertise in urban development is reflected in his journalism analyzing demographic and sociological trends, added substantially to understanding of Mormonism. His reporting included historical background, but focused much more on Mormons’ participation in society and politics without being sidetracked by obscure controversies that have little to do with Mormons’ everyday lives.

(3) NBC’s Rock Center, hosted by Brian Williams, devoted an entire prime-time program to Mormon belief and practice. Though some Mormons noticed a few inaccuracies, and took offense to the portrayal of sacred Mormon garments, many were also appreciative of the program’s overall even-handed and respectful tone. NBC clearly attempted, and mostly succeeded, to portray Mormons accurately, relevantly, and respectfully.

(4) David French is an opinion journalist and activist who headed the group Evangelicals for Mitt, and his coverage of Mormons was directly to a specifically evangelical audience. French makes clear that Mormon theology and his own Calvinism have important differences, but he also conveyed the true and even mundane details of Mormon practice to those who may have heard inaccurate accounts.

(6) Coverage of the Mormon Moment also included reporting how non-Mormons reacted to Mormons. Thomas C. Terry’s article in Inside Higher Ed explained several instances of bias against Mormons among academics and analyzed the implications of the separation between scholarly circles and most Mormons.

(8) When Broadway put Mormon missionaries at the center of a popular show, most audience members were no doubt smart enough to separate satire from realism. But would audience members be able to find any realistic sources to help them better appreciate the inside jokes? The New York Times filled this void with a lengthy account of actual Mormon missionaries serving in Uganda. The first-hand look into the missionaries’ words and actions is a valuable source for anyone interested in the young men behind the spoof.

(9) Mormon temples received a great deal of curiosity and speculation, which is natural considering their sacred rituals are not open to non-Mormons. Danielle Tumminio, an Episcopal priest, attended a temple “Open House,” wherein the public are allowed to tour a temple in its entirety prior to its dedication and closure to all but Mormons in good standing. Her analysis, while positive and even enthusiastic about the spiritual aspects of her visit, is praiseworthy more because it considered what temple worship means to Mormons.

(10) McKay Coppins of Buzzfeed is a practicing Mormon. This gave him the opportunity to publish several articles demystifying Mormon belief and practice for an unfamiliar public. His familiarity and thoroughness probably couldn’t have been duplicated by a non-Mormon reporter’s conversation with a few sources. Of course not all reporting on a religion can be done by its adherents, but as Mormon scholar Joanna Brooks suggested, much reporting on Mormons could be vastly improved with one simple step: a Mormon fact-checker.

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